Why Business is not unlike Dating
If you’ve ever attended one of my Marketing Workshops, you’ll likely have heard me compare business to high school dating. Why? It’s an analogy that we can all relate to. The awkwardness, the rush, the excitement, etc. Sound familiar? It’s not unlike business, not unlike your first sales call, closing your first deal, and getting the phone to ring from a successful marketing campaign.
Remember when you were in highschool and there was that one guy or girl that everyone wanted to go out with? They were probably very popular and very busy, probably too busy for us to get near. In business, you too want to be a little less accessible. Many small business owners make the mistake of answering their phone 24×7 and dropping everything to please your customer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for customer satisfaction, but do you really want to be the nerdy kid carrying the books every day? You’ll soon find out that the captain of the highschool football team suddenly became more interesting.
Lets say you’ve done your prospecting, your marketing campaign panned out and you’ve landed that first date. What is your game plan? Do you talk about getting married, having kids, that white picket fence, and present your first date with a diamond ring? I sure hope not! But guess what the most common mistake most sales people make? They land the first appointment and go in for the kill, wanting to close the deal and sign someone up for their product or service. Guess what? You just rolled up with the diamond ring and composites of what your children will look like. What is a better approach? Be strategic. After Date 1 comes Date 2, comes Date 3, and so on. Always be selling the next stage in your sales cycle. For most of us, that’s the next appointment, the proposal stage, the final contract signing and so on.
Don’t be tempted to sell the whole nine yards on the first encounter. Build rapport, market yourself, educate your audience, establish yourself as the obvious choice and have an irresistable offer to get you to the next date…um stage in your sales process.
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